Cresset Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Cresset Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in BlackRock by 9.3%, now holding 7,893 shares valued at approximately $7.47 million.
• The recent trading activity includes significant insider sales, with Director Rachel Lord selling 18,036 shares and CEO Laurence Fink selling 12,054 shares, indicating reduced ownership positions.
• BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share to be paid on September 23rd, representing a 1.8% dividend yield.

Cresset Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,893 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 807 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $7,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,740 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,122,743,000 after acquiring an additional 876,836 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $13,027,419,000 after acquiring an additional 387,466 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,100,163 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,152,907,000 after acquiring an additional 329,244 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,071,339,000 after acquiring an additional 279,336 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded up $23.1220 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,147.8720. The company had a trading volume of 269,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 755,454. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. The company has a market cap of $177.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,171.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,082.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $991.86.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.BlackRock's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is 50.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $283,267,354.71. This represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BLK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.